Clinical Resuscitation Officers Patrick Higgins and Lucy Ansell with UCLAN student nurse Liam Wilson at the workforce event at Blackpool Victoria Hospital
Success stories and development opportunities were in the spotlight at an event for staff of Blackpool Teaching Hospitals.
Teams providing employment, training, occupational therapy, apprenticeships, mentoring, learning and development handed out information to staff on Wednesday, January 20, at Blackpool Victoria Hospital.
Karen Hodgson, Workforce Development Manager for the Trust, said: “The event was about showcasing what we do as ‘back room’ functions.
“It was also to show what training and other services are available to staff.”
Karen Hodgson, Kirsty Hollings and Carrie Graham
Andrea Padgeon, Resourcing and Contracts Team Leader, said: “We wanted to get out there to show people some of the things we do.
“Anyone who is interested in courses and training can come to us. If people know someone who is looking for a job at the Trust, they can give us a ring and we can point people in the right direction.
“We also do apprenticeships and return to practice schemes.”
UNISON Learning Reps, Jane Eyre and Beverley Herring, were promoting the benefits of joining the union and the many courses on offer.
Jane said UNISON is currently working on a partnership with the hospital library for a literacy project called ‘Reading Ahead’.
The aim is to encourage more people to discover the joys of reading and writing. Sessions on how to use social media are also being offered in February.
Debra Thornton, Knowledge and Library Services Manager for the Trust, said library staff try to encourage everyone to practice evidence-based care.
The library has the latest medical journals which are stored in a systematic way.
Debra explained: “If staff are doing an assignment or an audit we can help them with their searches.
“People can do their own searches but we keep everything up-to-date. We support people who are training and doing research projects.”
Andrea Padgeon with Debra Thornton
Clinical Resuscitation Officers, Patrick Higgins and Lucy Ansell, were at the event with student Liam Wilson from the University of Central Lancashire.
Lucy said: “We train all of the Trust’s staff in resuscitation techniques – that’s more than 6,000 people.”
Patrick had prepared a series of user-friendly algorithms for the event to show staff systematic approaches to resuscitation.
Project Search, a scheme which helps young people with learning difficulties to find work, was also represented at the event.
Julie Atkinson, Charlotte Foster, Clare Edgar and Connor Green from Project Search
Julie Atkinson, a specialist practitioner from Blackpool and the Fylde College, said: “Project Search enables young people with learning difficulties to try out different job roles.
“There are five interns at the Trust who are all doing exceptionally well. They are doing jobs that have a high level of role replacement. For many people their job is a stepping stone to something else but our interns tend to stay on the same level.
“This means employers don’t always have to do interviews or be constantly advertising for new staff. It can save thousands of pounds. All the interns want to do is work and they can with the right support.”
Anyone interested in working for the Trust can go to: https://www.bfwh.nhs.uk/working-for-the-trust
The Trust’s Employment Services Centre can be contacted by phone on: 01253 95700.
The Trust can also be contacted by post at: Employment Services Centre, Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Blackpool Victoria Hospital, Whinney Heys Road, Blackpool, Lancashire FY3 8NR.
If you would like to request an application pack for an advertised post, please call the Trust’s 24-hour recruitment line on 01253 957008.
Jobs within the Trust can also be viewed at: www.jobs.nhs.uk
Norma Singleton and Danny Lim
Gill Evans and Andrea Padgeon
Clare Walden from the Clinical Skills Centre with a model of a baby used for simulations